A protest march against plans to build two deep-sea ports in the South is just the beginning of local action against the schemes, a rally leader said on Monday.

Banchong Nasae, director of the Project for Coastal Resources Management, said the 220km rally from Pak Bara in Satun’s Langu district to Chana district in Songkhla will be followed by further protest action.

The march was intended to raise awareness of how the planned infrastructure schemes will affect people in the South, but community leaders will follow it up with more protests, he explained.

A group of local fishermen and environmentalists completed their long protest walk at Ban Suan Kong in Chana yesterday after setting off from Pak Bara on Oct 22.

The march was organised to highlight the environmental damage that would be caused if the planned construction of the ports is allowed to go ahead, the group said.

The first high-tide period in this month starts today and will run until tomorrow.

The second period will run from October 16 to October 22.

Sunsern said the water level in the Chao Phraya River might rise to 2.8 metres above mean sea level in communities without flood barriers. As of press time, the water level was 1.72 metres above the mean sea level.

The Thai Meteorological Department warned yesterday that heavy rain would continue in lower Central, eastern and southern provinces, with high winds and waves predicted in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand – until October 8 at the least.

Flooding has continued to ravage over 20 provinces, especially those in the Northeast.

Residents in hillside and riverside areas in Kanachanaburi were also warned about the risk of forest floods and landslides, while in Rayong’s Klaeng district, more than 100 homes were reported to be under one metre of water, which resulted in an evacuation of children and the elderly.

Disease in Chaiyaphum

In Chaiyaphum, heavy rain also left nine districts flooded with some residential areas under 1-2 metres of water. Many locals were reported to be suffering from skin complaints due to a chemical leak from an Agriculture Office warehouse in Muang district.

In Buri Ram’s Ban Kruat district, forest floods damaged sections of road and swept two cars away. However, no injury was reported.

Aranyaprathet in Sa Kaew was also reported to be flooded.

A Suan Dusit Poll found 65 per cent of people feared this year’s floods could become as bad as in 2011, while 35 per cent said they believed the government was better prepared now. However, 57 per cent said the government’s popularity had been affected by the current floods, while 34 per cent disagreed and said flooding was an inevitable annual event.

Another 39 per cent backed the government’s Bt350-billion water-management scheme as a long-term solution, while 36.5 per cent disagreed, saying the scheme was too costly, needed more study, and could lead to an increase in corruption.

Thailand’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department issues a report on Tuesday 1st October 2013, about the flood situation currently affecting the country.

Floods have now struck in 25 provinces since 27th September. Across Thailand, flooding has affected 2,802,512 people of 817,290 households affected, in a total of 11,158 villages. A total of 23 deaths have been reported as result of the floods.

Evacuations

15,254 people of 4,416 households in Si Sa Ket and Ubon Ratchathani have been evacuated to higher grounds for safety reasons.

Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province

97,324 people affected in the province, across a total of 584 villages. Flood water was a high as 1 to 2 metres deep in some areas. 29,140 houses, 34 temples, a mosque, 27 schools and four state office building compounds affected by the flood water.

Pattya

The resort city of Pattya suffered from flash floods after 2 hours of torrential rainfall on Monday 30th September. The floods caused problems for vehicles, and was reported as being 1 metre deep at some points. However the situation has since returned to normal.

Floods receding

Flooding has begun to reced in some areas of the country, including Kanchanaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon, Kalasin, Nakhon Ratchasima, Phayao and Mae Hong Son.